Resident
Bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
Big, curious and often in the mood to ride the bow wave. Resident groups move along the whole south coast.
2,5–4 m↓ 300 m
Dolphin watching in Tenerife
Three dolphin species are regular here and one of them lives on this coast permanently. This covers which is which, where they are, and why swimming with them is not on offer.
Dolphins are the reason most people book, and in Tenerife they are also the safest bet. Bottlenose dolphins are resident along the whole south-west coast, in groups that move between Los Gigantes and Los Cristianos and are seen on the great majority of departures. In summer they are joined by Atlantic spotted dolphins, which arrive in larger, faster and considerably more acrobatic groups.
The channel is also home to short-finned pilot whales, which — despite the name — are dolphins too, and the largest ones you will see here.
The three you are most likely to meet
Seasonal
Atlantic spotted dolphin
Stenella frontalis
Fast, acrobatic and usually in numbers. Spots appear with age, so a group is a range of pale to heavily freckled.
1,7–2,3 m↓ 60 m
Seasonal
Common dolphin
Delphinus delphis
Travels in large, noisy groups. The hourglass pattern on the flank is the giveaway when they turn.
1,7–2,4 m↓ 200 m
Telling them apart from the boat
| Bottlenose | Atlantic spotted | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 2.5–4 m, chunky | 1.7–2.3 m, slim |
| Colour | Uniform grey | Pale with spots that increase with age |
| Beak | Short, thick | Longer, often white-tipped |
| Group size | A handful to twenty | Often thirty or more |
| Behaviour | Steady, deliberate | Fast, leaping, splashing |
| When | All year | Roughly May to October |
About swimming with them
It comes up on every trip, so here is the plain answer: getting into the water with wild cetaceans is not permitted in the Canary Islands, and no legitimate operator will offer it. The rules exist because approaching a wild animal in its own medium changes its behaviour, separates mothers from calves and transmits disease in both directions.
Anyone advertising a swim with wild dolphins here is either operating illegally or means a captive facility. If that distinction matters to you — and it should — the responsible whale watching page goes into what a properly run operation looks like.
Best time for dolphins specifically
Bottlenose dolphins are here in every month, so there is no wrong time. For spotted dolphins and the sheer spectacle of a large fast group, come between June and October. Whatever month you pick, take the morning departure: a flat sea makes spotting a distant group much easier, and dolphins are far more visible than a pilot whale's low roll.
Where the trips go
All departures leave from Puerto Colón in Costa Adeje and work the channel to the south-west. That is where the resident animals are, so trips advertised from Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas or Los Gigantes are generally working the same water — often with a longer transfer at each end.
Common questions about dolphins
Can you swim with dolphins in Tenerife?
Not with wild ones, and that is a good thing. Entering the water with wild cetaceans is prohibited in Canary waters. Any operator offering it is either breaking the rules or talking about captive animals in a pool, which is a different thing entirely.
What is the difference between dolphin watching and whale watching here?
Nothing, in practice. The same two-hour trip from Puerto Colón looks for both, because the resident dolphins and the resident pilot whales share the same channel. A tour sold specifically as "dolphin watching" is the same boat.
Do dolphins ride the bow of the boat?
Sometimes. Bottlenose and spotted dolphins do it when they feel like it, and a good skipper will hold a steady course to let them rather than turning to chase them.
How close do they come?
That is up to them. On a small boat with the engine cut, curious animals often come within a few metres of their own accord. On a large fast catamaran they usually do not.
2 h · max 10€60 per adult
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